"MAAAASTEEEER!"
The hair of Hades began to glow red, and he was squinting not to scream with rage.
"What do you want, Panic?!" he said annoyed.
Pain and Panic came running up awkwardly and bowed down to him.
"Master, the demon, he- he's got past the Cerberus!"
Hades stared at him with fiery eyes.
"IMPOSSIBLE!"
The hair of Hades was now completely red and his blue skin also started to get a red tint. He kicked Pain and Panic out of the way and walked to the edge of the Styx.
"And then where is this so-called demon?!" he said angrily. "I'm telling you, if you're making a fool of me then-"
Suddenly, a devilish laugh echoed through the underworld. Pain and Panic made fearful noises and held each other tightly. Hades hair was blue again and started to soften up. A puzzled look appeared on his face.
He, the God of the Underworld, got the creeps because of this laughter. And that never happened.
Hades narrowed his eyes and then saw the rowboat with Charon appearing out of the mist. He clearly saw that Charon was rowing frantically... And then he saw the demon who stood up in the boat. He stood with his hands resting on his sides looking at the ferryman, recommending him to go faster. Hades jaw dropped when he saw this. This demon was not dead indeed, but also not really alive. Because it was a demon! But what was he doing here?
"Just hurry up at once, mister ferryman!" said the demon grinning broadly.
Charon did what he could, and his bones creaked. When they docked at the underworld, the boat bumped against the shore. Charon sighed in relief.
"We're here!" the demon said cheerfully.
He jumped happily boat and landed right in front of Hades. Hades still had that puzzled look as he watched the demon. Grinning, the demon held out his hand.
"Good day, Demon Lord Ghirahim. Lord Ghirahim for short."
Hades grabbed the hand of the demon and shook it.
"Hi. Name's Hades, King of the Dead, God of the Underworld."
"God of the Underworld, eh?"
Ghirahim let go of his hand and began to walk around in Hades's throne room.
"Nice place you have here," he said.
Hades teleported himself this time in front of Ghirahim.
"Say, what? Demons are not allowed here!"
Ghirahim's cheerful grin vanished.
"Oh no, and what are these?"
He snapped his fingers and suddenly he held Pain in his right hand and Panic in his left hand at their throats.
"M-MASTEERRR!" Pain cried.
Ghirahim bowed his head and looked darkly at Hades.
Hades looked to the other direction with a scoff.
"These are my slaves, you can murder them if you want."
This made Pain and Panic groan in fear and Ghirahim laughed.
"I like you, Hades," he said and left the two monsters loose, who fell hard to the ground. "But why am I here?"
Hades looked vaguely at him. "I just wanted to ask you!"
"Well," Ghirahim thought for a moment. "The only thing I can remember is that my master was alive, and I became the Sword Spirit. And then I was here-"
Suddenly his eyes widened.
"OH NO!"
The demon had fiery eyes and shouted. Hades looked at him with a puzzled look on his face. There really was something wrong with this demon..
Shouting, Ghirahim stomped around the room and even the dead in the underworld got the creeps.
"My master has been defeated!" Ghirahim then shouted. "But how is that possible?! That damned Link! I'll kill him! I'll destroy him! I'll stab him and I'll trample him! I WILL EAT HIM ALIVE!"
Pain and Panic hid behind Hades who obviously didn't understand what this demon was talking about at all.
"Uh.. Yeah. Hey, mister demon, take it easy, okay?"
The next moment it was dead quiet and Ghirahim stood right before Hades with his sword against his throat. Hades swallowed and Ghirahim glared at him.
"Shut up or I'll cut it open, Hades," he hissed.
Suddenly, Hades began to chuckle. "For if you didn't notice, demon, I'm a god and can not die. Surprise!"
Ghirahim growled angrily and lashed out with his sword, but Hades suddenly disappeared in black fog and reappeared a few feet away. Ghirahim growled again.
"Listen, demon, I have a good idea," he said. Carefully, he walked up to the demon. "Look, um.. I am the god of the underworld, king of the dead, yeah? And you... you would like to see someone dead. What was his name... Link, right? Yes, you would like to see him dead huh? Well, here's the deal: I make sure that Link will suffer forever in the underworld, and YOU... "
Ghirahim looked at him quizzically. Hades cleared his throat.
"YOU are my new gatekeeper. In the underworld, I mean," he said.
Ghirahim did not seem to understand it yet.
"Look," Hades went on. "You are the one who got past my Cerberus-"
"You mean the three-headed dog?"
"Uh, yeah."
"That wasn't really that hard. That dog began to howl in fear when I yelled at him."
"And that's why I need you, Ghirahim. You are in the underworld, and you won't ever get out. But I can give you a task here, AND kill your enemy. Then everyone's happy, right?"
Ghirahim scratched his head and thought.
Hades, king of the dead. Ghirahim, the gatekeeper. No, that didn't sound right. But wait...
A small smile appeared on his face. Then he nodded to Hades.
"Well, if you give Link a place in the underworld, I will take the place of Cerberus."
Hades laughed. "Beautiful! Then we agree!"
He took a contract out and a quill which he gave to Ghirahim. At the bottom of the contract there was a stippled line.
"Mark there, then it's settled.."
Ghirahim grinned. "With pleasure."
He wrote: Mendax.